Chapter 5: Eternal Night and the Dawn

Qian Ye, at this very moment, was overwhelmingly exhausted, both in body and spirit. In the blink of an eye, he drifted into a deep slumber.

However, only three hours had passed when a shrill bell jolted him awake. Almost instantly, Dragon Sea’s command pierced his mind. He immediately scrambled out of bed, dashing to grab the clothes tossed at the foot of his bed. As he dressed as swiftly as possible, the movement inevitably brushed against the whip marks on his back, causing him to hiss in pain.

From waking up to assembly, the children had but five minutes. The last three to arrive would receive an extra three lashes as punishment.

Numbly, Qian Ye joined the line, mechanically obeying orders and beginning the run up the mountain trail. By the time he completed the five-kilometer run and returned to the starting point, he was truly numb.

Thanks to his survival experiences in the garbage dump, Qian Ye performed exceptionally well, finishing tenth.

Next was an hour of strength training. Those who failed to meet the quota would be lashed. The slender Qian Ye, unfortunately, received a lash.

This was just the beginning. In the following days, the whip would become the most memorable object for these children.

After the strength training, it was finally breakfast time.

Breakfast was the highlight of the entire camp. Not only was there a variety of food, but also an unlimited supply. You could eat as much as you wanted, with no restrictions except for time. The allotted time for breakfast was thirty minutes, nearly luxurious, so no one would exceed it.

The children had already learned that any behavior beyond the set time limit would result in lashes.

In the Yellow Spring Training Camp, there were a few from noble families, but the majority were selected from the common folk, with a handful of orphans like Qian Ye. Most of the children, who had long struggled with hunger, lost control at the sight of such a sumptuous first meal, gorging themselves as if they might never get another chance.

Qian Ye, however, ate cautiously until he was slightly fuller than usual, then stopped. In the garbage dump, he had often seen people die from overeating after unexpectedly finding a large stash of food.

As the bell signaling the end of breakfast sounded, the children rushed towards the door like a tide. Suddenly, a little girl stumbled and fell, screaming and writhing in agony before she stilled. She had eaten too much, leading to her demise.

This incident and the fate of the little girl taught the surviving children the importance of self-restraint.

After breakfast, the training continued. The day was filled with various exercises, all focused on strength and endurance.

Halfway through each exercise, Qian Ye felt he could go on no longer. But the stubbornness and perseverance ingrained in him from a young age kept him going. His small body moved numbly, completing the tasks set before him. The garbage dump had taught him that even in the darkest moments, gritting his teeth and persevering would see him through to the next day.

By the time he lay down on his bed, Qian Ye barely remembered how he had made it through the day. This time, he slept on his stomach, with three whip marks on his tender back.

Almost as soon as he hit the bed, Qian Ye fell into a deep sleep. That night, his dreams were filled with the whistling sound of whips slicing through the air.

At six o’clock in the morning, the shrill bell woke Qian Ye from his slumber. He sprang from the bed and, driven by instinct, dressed and dashed out of the barracks at full speed. Throughout this, his eyes remained half-open.

As he stepped out, the morning sunlight forced him to squint. It dawned on him that it should still be the Dark Season; how could there be sunlight at six in the morning?

In the next moment, Qian Ye realized he was no longer in the garbage dump but in the middle layer of the empire: Qin. Here, the sunlight was rarely blocked by the upper layers, hence the early morning light.

Qian Ye only paused for a heartbeat before sprinting to his position, standing as straight as a spear.

Another day began.

That day, Qian Ye’s most vivid memory was of the whips held by the instructors. Once again, he was lashed for not meeting the required quota within the set time.

The other children faced similar fates, except for the strongest few. The weakest child received five lashes and collapsed, unable to rise. He was immediately dragged away from the training ground. From that day on, Qian Ye never saw him again.

On the third night, the instructors brought a large bucket of black, ointment-like substance for the children to apply to their whip marks. It was incredibly painful, more so than the initial lashes. Yet, after a night of agonizing discomfort, Qian Ye’s wounds were almost healed by the next morning.

Days turned into weeks, and every night, Qian Ye dreamed of whips.

A month later, Qian Ye finally had a day without being lashed. That night, he suddenly counted his fellow trainees. To his shock, only seventy-six remained. The initial group of over a hundred had dwindled by thirty.

The relentless strength and endurance training, along with the constant lashing, continued.

Since the brutal first day, Dragon Sea had ceased to execute any child for minor infractions. Only direct defiance of the rules merited death. Nevertheless, three months into the training, only sixty of Qian Ye’s companions remained, nearly half having disappeared, most likely due to the grueling regimen.

Yet, after three months, Qian Ye’s physique had grown significantly stronger, almost unrecognizable from when he first entered the camp.

On the first day of the fourth month, Qian Ye and his companions were led to a large building for a special class.

The instructor was a tall, beautiful woman in her late twenties, whose uniform barely contained her ample bosom.

She strode to the podium, wrote “The Essence of the World” on the blackboard, and read it aloud. “I know most of you can’t read these words yet, but don’t worry, you have a month to learn. I’ll distribute the textbooks, and you must study them diligently in your spare time. There will be a test in a month. Now, let me explain what the essence of our world is.”

The essence of the world, she explained, was primordial force.

According to the teacher, Zhang Jing, the foundation of the entire world was primordial force, which came in two types: Dawn Force, inclined towards light, and Eternal Night Force, inclined towards darkness.

All life forms were dependent on one side of the primordial force, naturally dividing into two major factions: Dawn and Eternal Night. Even within the same faction, different species had varying degrees of inclination towards Dawn or Eternal Night.

Humans belonged to the Dawn faction, while the dark races, who had enslaved humans for millennia, belonged to the Eternal Night. Their power and lives were sustained by the Eternal Night Force. The dark races, once immensely powerful, included several branches, with the blood race, werewolves, demon descendants, and spider-demons among the most formidable.

However, humans were a peculiar race. While most inclined towards Dawn, some chose Eternal Night. Some even awakened Dawn Force but ultimately devoted themselves to Eternal Night. This was unimaginable for the dark races, who only became adults after being baptized by Eternal Night Force, yet it was not uncommon among humans.

It was said that between Dawn and Eternal Night, there existed the purest form of primordial force. However, few could sense, let alone cultivate, this fundamental force. No race in the world corresponded to this pure force.

Primordial force and cultivation…

Hearing this, Qian Ye clenched his right hand, as if trying to grasp a fragment of warmth. The restless Crimson Moon night and the strong, supportive hand in the darkness meant everything to him.

Zhang Jing tapped the podium, and the smooth metal surface split open. With a faint mechanical whir, a complex model emerged, composed of countless metal wires, branches, gears, and irregular components. This 3D model was a map of the world.

The entire world was dynamic, with gears turning and metal wires guiding. The continents and celestial bodies moved along distinct orbits.

One by one, unfamiliar terms spilled from Zhang Jing’s lips. Humans had explored twenty-seven continents, none of which remained static. They followed intricate paths, always in motion. Above these continents were two suns, surrounded by several massive celestial bodies, the moons visible at night. Depending on their orbits, the moon seen each night on a given continent might differ.

Most of the children, including Qian Ye, were bewildered and could only memorize what she said by rote. They stared intently at the complex model, hoping to absorb as much information as possible in the shortest time.

Only a few children from noble families seemed familiar with this knowledge and remained unperturbed.

“The sun’s light is blocked by the upper layers, so the lower the continent, the less sunlight it receives. Each continent has a unique primordial force, either Dawn or Eternal Night. Those with clear attributes are the natural habitats of various races. Some continents, with ambiguous attributes, are contested territories,” Zhang Jing explained, her voice melodious and her words easy to understand, ensuring the children grasped the concepts.

Pointing to the lowest layer of continents, she continued, “For example, this is the continent with the longest nights. Despite having four seasons, it is divided primarily into Light Season and Dark Season, with three months of light and the rest in darkness. The harsh conditions make it difficult to survive, yet it is the birthplace of all humans. The empire also rose from here, though it now seems dispensable. This continent is called Eternal Night, or the Forsaken Land.”

Qian Ye’s body trembled, and something warm threatened to spill from his eyes. This was the place he had lived since he could remember. Though he vaguely recalled others living with him initially, they had long since vanished.

Unbeknownst to him, the class was nearing its end.

Zhang Jing retracted the model and concluded, “We’ll meet again in a month. The next lesson will be on the Dawn War, the war that marked the true rise of humanity, the war of destiny, and the founding of the empire.”